


What's In A Name

by Random_Nerd3



Series: Tales of Arcadia Fanfic [6]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Wizards (ToA)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Steve Palchuck, Champions of Arcadia, Domestic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I promise, It's a surprise - Freeform, Jim Lake Jr. Is Tired Dad, M/M, Merlin Is Tired Dad, Poly Relationship, Sort Of, Ten years - post Wizards, The Douxie in this is their SON, Trollhunter Spoilers, Wizards Spoilers, eventually, except for Douxie, fast pacing, hey Ferb we're getting the gang back together, let the kids be happy, they are all adults, we haven't gotten there yet though, what if the last episode ended differently?, when I was a boy there were Wizards, who is their kiddo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25830553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Nerd3/pseuds/Random_Nerd3
Summary: "Well..." Jim said hesitantly as his son listened with wide eyes filled with wonder. "You see Douxie, when I was a boy -" Claire cut him off with a smile from ear to ear,"when we were your age Douxie, there were Wizards."
Relationships: Jim Lake Jr./Claire Nuñez, Steve Palchuk/Eli Pepperjack
Series: Tales of Arcadia Fanfic [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870741
Comments: 12
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I rewatched HTTYD Hidden World and came up with this. I'll probably rewrite it longer eventually but this is all I've got for now. I'm glad everyone is liking my writing so much! All of your kudos and reads really do mean a lot, thanks for all the support! :)
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> ~R

_"History won't remember me,"_

_~ Hisridoux "Douxie" Casperan (Wizards s1 e6)_

* * *

Years after the fall of the Arcane Order and life  _ finally _ returned to normal Claire would find herself up at late hours in the night, staring at the moon. “What are you doing up?” Jim asked from the living room doorway. Claire sighed as she nursed the cold cup of coffee held between her hands.

“I miss him,” Claire said as she let Jim gather her into his arms. Jim sighed,

“I know, I miss him too.” The two champions of Arcadia retreated to the couch, snuggling close to each other. After a few moments of silence Claire tilted her head so she was looking up at Jim.

“Do you think the kids are old enough?” She asked softly, Jim leaned into her palm as she softly caressed his face. When he didn’t respond Claire said, “we should at least tell Douxie about his namesake.” Jim nodded then grabbed her wrist,

“I know. We will, I promise but not tonight alright? This weekend everyone’s coming over for the barbeque. They’ll probably be telling stories anyway.” Claire nodded then wiped a tear off her cheek.

“Agreed,” she said as she sighed into her husband’s arms. Jim hummed a soft melody then asked,

“What made you think of Douxie?” Claire hesitated,

“You’ll think it’s stupid…” Jim chuckled,

“You married me didn’t you?” Giving in to Jim’s original question Claire spoke in a quiet voice,

“I couldn’t sleep. Nothing to do with the shadows or anything I just… couldn’t.” She took a deep breath then continued, “today’s the day we first met him. Back in high school when you were  _ so _ jealous of the new guy with a cool accent?” She said half-teasing Jim. Continuing on she said, “history may not remember him… but  _ we  _ will, right Jim?” She asked, turning to face her husband. Jim met her gaze with a soft smile and haunted look in his eyes. As he nodded the trollhunter promised,

“We’ll always remember who Hisridoux was Claire.”

Three days later the Lake-Nunez household was filled with joyful cries of laughter and triumph as Steve finished chugging his fourth bottle of beer. Jim laughed as his ex-bully doubled over and shoved his way into the bathroom before he could throw up. “Ah simpler times,” Toby said between fits of giggles. He pulled Jim in for a hug then embraced Claire. “How are you guys doing?” Toby asked them, concern in his eyes. JIm shrugged and made a so-so gesture with his empty hand,

“As good as we can be. We’ve got a family and friends right?” Claire chuckled lightly,

“Being alive doesn’t hurt either.” Toby smiled slightly then Douxie, Claire and Jim’s seven-year-old son tugged at his arm to drag him to the yard games. Jim and Claire laughed together as Toby and their son ran through a makeshift obstacle course.

“Your boy is going to do great things,” Krel said suddenly appearing at Jim’s shoulder. The two hugged then Jim nodded,

“As long as he doesn’t take the quarry to school.” Aja and Claire hugged each other then went off to do whatever they did when they hung out together. Jim sighed as he watched his son run  _ around _ the obstacle course instead of through it.

“He’s a smart one too,” Krel said with a smile. Jim smirked as he took a sip of his beer,

“Douxie gets it from Claire. She’s the one with the brain cell most of the time.” Sighing Jim dumped the rest of his beer into a nearby plant then said,

“Claire and I decided we’re going to tell Douxie the truth about Hisridoux.” Krel sighed,

“He was a true warrior and master wizard. I make sure he’s not forgotten on Akaridion.” The air grew heavy around them as they sobered at the thought of their lost friend.

“ _ Daddy help! _ ” A voice screeched and suddenly Jim got toppled over the lawn chair by his son. Jim laughed as he hit the ground at Krel’s feet. Looking up Douxie exclaimed, “Uncle Krel help! Uncle Toby is the tickle monster!” Instead of helping Douxie, Krel dived forward and tickled the boy’s stomach himself. “Hey daddy?” Douxie asked once everyone was back inside the house and either passed out or almost passed out. Jim looked up from his book,

“What’s up buddy?” The Trollhunter asked, worried something was wrong. Douxie seemed hesitant, but luckily Jim didn’t have to pry much. After a few seconds of hesitation the boy asked quietly,

“How’d I get my name?” Jim hesitated then glanced at his wife. Claire was curled up on the couch next to Steve, she needed the sleep but she should be awake for this conversation. Pulling Douxie onto his lap Jim asked,

“Why do you want to know kiddo? You’ve never asked before,” he pointed out hoping to stall the conversation until a near-future date. Douxie seemed to ponder his choices then said,

“Kids at school were teasing me because it’s a weird name. Uncle Toby said it was a cool name though! And he said I was named after a really cool dude!” Jim chuckled,

“Well you  _ were _ named after a really cool dude Douxie. His full name was Hisridoux and well… you might not believe me when I say this…” Claire blinked awake and finished for him with a smile in her eyes,

  
“When we were your age Douxie… there were  _ wizards _ .”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Douxie meets his Uncle Hisirdoux and Grandpa Merlin and Grandma Morgana.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am falling down a rabbit hole I won't be able to write myself out of. Hopefully you all enjoy this while it lasts! To clear up any confusion, the whole fic is from "Douxie" or, Jim and Claire's seven year old kid's pov. Whenever I write Hisirdoux I mean like, 919 year old Hisirdoux. Let me know if you ever get confused and I'll go back through and re-edit stuff.
> 
> Enjoy the adventures of young Douxie Lake!
> 
> ~R

Seven-year-old Douxie woke up curled between his mom and dad with a smile on his face. He stretched his arm, accidentally hitting his dad in the face. Douxie winced as his dad snorted and continued to sleep. Remembering why he woke up Douxie padded his way through the house. When he made it to the bathroom door he reached up and turned the doorknob. Locking the door behind him he did his business then flushed the toilet. Mission complete he reached up and turned on the water and washed his hands just like they taught him in school. Bypassing the paper towels Douxie used his shirt to dry his hands. Douxie liked hearing about his Uncle Hisirdoux last night. His daddy said he and Uncle Hisirdoux would get into a lot of trouble. “Douxie? Douxie where’d you go?” His dad called out, concern evident in his voice.

“I went to the potty,” Douxie explained before urging his dad to pick him up. “Lift me up, lift me up!” His dad smiled then knelt down and wrapped his arms around his waist. “I wish I could’ve met Uncle Hisirdoux…” Douxie said sleepily, a yawn escaping at the end of the sentence. He rested his head against his dad’s shoulder as they climbed the stairs.

“I wish you could’ve met him too Douxie.” His dad said, pulling back Douxie’s blue covers. Douxie yawned again, curling up around his black cat stuffed animal. His dad smiled then said, “you know, Uncle Hisirdoux had a black cat just like yours.” Reaching forward his dad patted Douxie’s stuffed cat. “His name was Archie,” his dad continued and Douxie’s eyelids grew heavier.

“I like cats, they’re way better than dogs,” Douxie insisted. He tucked his arms around the black stuffie and yawned one final time before the warmth from the quilts and heaviness of his eyes pulled him into the realm of dreams…

_ Douxie’s dream seemed different than normal. He seemed more present than normal, he was able to feel the heat of the sun against his face and the wind rushing around him. Douxie grinned happily as a swarm of glowing blue butterflies appeared in front of him. They swirled around him in whisps of magic. He reached up to try and grab at one of the butterflies, but it disappeared in a cloud of blue. Giggling Douxie let the butterflies guide him further into the forest, running after his new friends. “Hisirdoux what is this?” A man’s voice asked, echoing through the woods. “The Trollhunter and fair Claire’s spawn?” A woman’s voice called out soon after, voice a beautiful memory. _

_ “What in the world is he doing here?” She asked as golden and green butterflies joined the blue ones. Douxie grabbed at the six-legged creatures but they all flew around him. Douxie watched in awe as the butterflies took the form of three separate humans. Douxie instantly recognised the man in the center as his Uncle Hisirdoux from his dad’s pictures. _

_ “Uncle Hisirdoux!” Douxie called out, rushing forward to hug his uncle. “Daddy said you were gone and couldn’t come home. He said you were really brave though, braver than he was.” His Uncle Hisirdoux startled when Douxie wrapped his limbs around the wizard’s legs eagerly. After the initial surprise wore off Hisirdoux returned his nephew’s hug, wrapping his arms tightly around Douxie. _

_ “It’s good to finally meet you little man,” Hisirdoux said flashing Douxie his signature rock ‘n roll hand symbol. Douxie giggled then laughed as Morgana picked him up and spun him around in circles. _

_ “Oh my goodness, he’s  _ precious _!” Morgana cooed as Douxie played with her hair. Merlin approached them apprehensively, _

_ “Little one, where did you come from?” He asked as Morgana put Douxie back on the ground. Douxie shrugged in response, _

_ “I don’t know. Your mom?” Hisirdoux stifled a fit of laughter, _

_ “That’s not what he means kiddo. Did something happen? An accident?” The young master wizard prompted, hoping his friends were still safe. Luckily Douxie shook his head, _

_ “Nuh uh. Mommy and daddy are at home. Before I went to sleep I thought about wanting to meet you and then blue butterflies appeared in my dream!” Hisirdoux caught the look Morgana and Merlin exchanged with each other. _

_ “What is it?” Hisirdoux asked his mentor, hoping it wasn’t anything bad. Merlin hummed in contemplation then said, _

_ “It appears the child was born with the gift of magic.” Douxie’s eyes widened in awe, _

_ “I have  _ magic _?” Douxie asked as Merlin knelt down to observe him. Nodding the old wizard answered, _

_ “Yes small one. It seems due to your parents adventures you were born with the gift of dreamsacping.” Hisirdoux gasped in disbelief, _

_ “But dreamscaping is one of the hardest forms of magic to learn!” He protested, remembering how he tried and so epically failed at it in his younger years. Merlin nodded, _

_ “Which is why a Dreamscaper must be born with the powers, not learn them. Just as you must be born with the capability to use shadow magic.” Douxie giggled as red butterflies appeared around him. He liked his uncle, but the conversation was getting rather boring. As Douxie played with the butterflies and fireflies forming around him he suddenly felt something pulling him away from his uncle. _

_ “Uncle Hisirdoux!” Douxie cried out as his uncle started to disappear. Merlin and Morgana went away first, but his uncle stayed flickering for a little bit longer. _

_ “Listen Douxie, when you wake up you need to tell your mommy to go to the shadow world. Can you do that?” To Douxie the shadow world sounded scary. Douxie trusted his uncle though, so he nodded. “You’re going to be amazing little man. Tell your daddy I say hi okay?” His uncle Hisirdoux requested, Douxie grinned, _

_ “Okay!” He exclaimed as Uncle Hisirdoux finished disappearing. The world around Douxie turned grey as he slowly felt his body start to wake up. _

The next day both of Douxie’s parents had to work, but his Uncle Steve was able to babysit him. Around mid-afternoon the troublemakers found themselves playing Trollhunters with broomsticks and cooking utensils. “Engrade little gremlin!” Uncle Steve shouted as he leapt over the couch and playfully aimed the broom at Douxie. Douxie yelped in surprise and hit his Uncle Steve in the gronknuts.

“Uncle Steve, you scared me!” Douxie said accusingly, tapping his uncle over the head with a frying pan. His uncle made a whining sound then fell to his side. Lying on the floor seemed like fun so Douxie joined his uncle, rolling himself up in a blanket like a taco.

“Hey kiddo, what’s bugging you?” Uncle Steve asked him after Douxie squinted at the ceiling, confused about something from his dream. Douxie hesitated, then unrolled from his taco blanket.

“You have to promise not to laugh. I swear it happened!” His uncle nodded then had his most serious expression on his face.

“I pinky promise mini-Douxie. What happened?” Douxie locked pinkies with his uncle then stretched out on the floor, arms behind his head.

“Last night I had a dream about Uncle Hisirdoux and these two other old people. One was old like a grandpa, the lady was old like um… like Coach old!” Douxie exclaimed, happy to find a way to describe the golden lady from his dream. His uncle hummed in acknowledgement so Douxie decided to continue his explanation. “And Uncle Hisirdoux called the old grandpa Merlin, and Merlin said I had magic and Uncle Hisirdoux said to tell mommy to go to the shadow world. Is the shadow world scary Uncle Steve? I don’t want mommy to go someplace scary.” Douxie sat up to see his uncle staring at him in shock.

  
“You saw… you saw Hisirdoux, Merlin,  _ and _ Morgana in a dream?” His uncle asked, Douxie nodded in response. “And Hisirdoux wants Claire to go into the shadow world?” Douxie nodded again, didn’t Uncle Steve listen to him at  _ all _ ? Uncle Steve dug around in his pockets and took out his cell phone, “sorry kiddo. I know I promised not to tell anyone, but your mommy and daddy need to know about this.” Douxie understood they were talking about important adult things now, and mommy and daddy needed to know about important adult things when Douxie was involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yell at me on Tumblr: @Random-nerd-3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick look inside Jim's head as new challenges, both magical and mundane, arrive in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!
> 
> I don't quite have an updating schedule yet, but I suddenly got a lot of free time recently so hopefully I'll at least have the first few-ish chapters up by this weekend. *shrugs* I don't really know tbh. Glad to see everyone likes this fic so far, it's my first ToA multi-chapter fic so it'll be a little bit rough at the start.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> ~R

Running an exhausted hand down his face Jim turned to face Douxie, who was sitting on top of their coffee table. “Okay Douxie,” he said, leaning into Claire’s supportive arm. “Start from the beginning.” Jim watched as his son energetically recounted his dream about Hisirdoux. About an hour later Douxie took a deep breath then finished his story,

“Aaaaaand then he told me to tell mommy to go into the dark place -” Steve interrupted him,

“Shadow realm.” Douxie nodded,

“Uh huh, shadow realm. Oh!” Douxie exclaimed running forward and jumping into Jim’s lap. “Uncle Hisirdoux said to tell you ‘hi’!” Jim let out a quiet chuckle,

“the next time you see him tell him I said ‘hi’ back.” Douxie smiled widely then turned to Claire. Jim leaned back into the couch then Douxie asked,

“Mommy what’s the shadow world? It sounds scary.” Claire glanced apprehensively at Jim. He gave her a reassuring nod before stealing a glance at Steve and Toby, who were playing a board game with Aja. Krel seemed to be paying attention to their conversation though. Sighing, Claire shifted so Douxie was sitting on her lap, then she tried to explain.

“Douxie, you know how we told you we used to fight monsters?” Their son nodded and began to play with Claire’s hair. She continued, “well… I can do magic like your Uncle Hisirdoux and I’m able to go into the place called the shadow realm.” Douxie’s eyes widened,

“What’s it like?” Jim placed a comforting arm around Claire’s shoulders. She melted into his touch with a look that told him she was quickly getting lost in memories of their childhood.

“Well Douxie, imagine everything in the world uh… underwater! And the water is black, but you can still see things in it. You can go anywhere you want and no one would be able to tell you’re watching them. You can protect your friends…” She trailed off, the haunting memory of watching Hisirdoux fall from the Order’s castle wrapped around her mind. Jim gripped her tighter, grounding her to the present. “And you can also keep your family safe,” Claire finished. Krel coughed,

“Right, but you can’t really do it anymore right?” The Akiridion asked, pulling up a chair nearby them. Jim scratched the back of his head,

“Uh… not exactly. After Douxie uh well… you know… Claire sort of just - ” Claire interrupted him,

“I haven’t tried it. Douxie was my teacher, my  _ mentor _ . How would I be able to keep using the skills he taught me if he wasn’t there to see it?” Krel let out a trilling humm as they settled into a heavy sort of silence. From across the room Steve coughed,

“Alright so what’s the plan?” The creepslayer asked as he approached them. Jim scratched his arm as he answered,

“Well we might as well try right?” Claire shot him a look so he shrugged, “what’s the worst that can happen? We’ve done this before, we can do it again.” Toby moved closer to them,

“Is this really happening?” He asked, a mix between excited and scared. Jim nodded then stood up, grabbed Douxie and backed away from Claire to give you space.

“My shadow staff is upstairs. I’ll be right back,” she promised. After giving Jim a quick kiss and Douxie a hug she ran up to her room to get the staff. Krel took Douxie from Jim, distracting the kid with a game.

“Hey guys, I’m going to run to the bathroom alright? Don’t let her start without me,” Jim said as he stood up. The others gave him a wave so when he got to the bathroom he locked the door behind him. He took the opportunity of being alone to look at his reflection. Staring at his reflection Jim could easily see how exhausted he was. Even after ten years of peace Merlin and his complete and utter  _ bullshit _ refused to leave him alone. Jim hoped to whatever god existed that his son wouldn’t have to suffer as much as he and Claire did in high school. 

“Hey Jimbo, Claire’s back!” Jim flinched at the sudden sound of Toby banging on the bathroom door. After a few seconds of silence Toby whispered through the door,

“Dude are you okay?” Jim hesitated then called back,

“Yeah Tobes!” Gathering his emotions Jim sighed then twisted the bathroom doorknob and readied himself for the possibility of losing the love of his life.

“Claire, you don’t have to do this…” Jim said softly as she readied her shadow staff. Douxie was safe, standing behind Krel and Aja in their Akiridian form. Claire nodded then said,

“I know.” She whipped her staff around her and slammed it onto the ground at her feet, “but if there’s a  _ chance _ we can bring them back we’re taking it.” Jim recognised the look of determination on her face and backed off. Taking cover behind their tipped over couch Jim crouched low as a shadow portal swirled at Claire’s feet.

“Mommy!” Jim heard Douxie cry out. Luckily, Aja was able to hold Douxie back just before he fell into the shadow portal after Claire.

“Hold on little one!” Aja yelled over the roaring of the wind. The funnel of wind started to suck furniture into the portal. Suddenly, just as soon as it started the portal swirled shut. Jim peered out from behind the couch, expression crossed between being mournful and in disbelief.

“She did it?” Jim asked, shakily standing up. As soon as it was cleared to be safe, Douxie ran to him and wrapped his arms around his legs. Jim knelt down and returned the hug. Looking over Douxie’s shoulder Jim stared at the spot on the floor his wife disappeared under. Next to him Toby sniffled as he patted Jim’s shoulder.

“She’ll be back, I’m sure of it. Meanwhile we should probably start cleaning up. Nice to know some things haven’t changed,” Toby said with a chuckle. Jim nodded with wobbly smile,

“Yeah, your right.” Turning his attention to Douxie Jim said, “hey buddy, how do you feel about spending some time with the Torrens?” Luckily his son let out an excited cheer of victory and ran around the house with Lugg. “If that’s alright of course,” he said half-asking as he looked at Aja and Krel. The two Akiridians nodded, but Aja was the one who spoke,

“Of course it’s fine Jim. My little godson can finally learn more about Akiridian!” She cooed happily. Looking at Jim Krel promised,

“I’ll make sure they don’t get into too much trouble.” Jim nodded appreciatively then he started to straighten the remaining furniture that didn’t get sucked into the shadow realm. When everyone was finally gone Jim sagged deeply into the couch cushion, still staring at the spot where his wife disappeared. As the digital clock on the tv struck midnight Jim was unable to shake the feeling that something went horribly wrong with Claire’s portal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yell at me on Tumblr: @Random-Nerd-3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire enters the shadow realm for the first time in ten years. Lets just say she was hoping for something other than another end of the world apocalypse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this fic isn't dead yet? That's a good thing I guess. I'm actually planning a plot now for this fic so it's going to take longer for me to update chapters, but I promise it'll be worth it! Also, I feel like I sort of skewed Claire and Jim's personalities in this a little bit, but they're ten years older than they were at the end of Wizards so I feel like it's justifiable. This chapter is unedited.
> 
> Also, young Douxie will now be reffered to as Douxie the second or Douxie Jr. to hopefully clear up any confusion if Douxie Jr. and Hisirdoux are in any of the same chapters.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> ~R

With a yelp Claire felt herself get sucked back into the shadow realm, along with her couch, lamp, and a few other furniture pieces from her living room.  _ Just like old times, _ she thought as she clutched her shadow staff. “Hello?” Claire called out, hoping for some sort of response. When none came she looked back up to the spot she came from, her portal disappeared soon after her entry into the shadow realm. Whispers of memories whipped around her as she propelled herself through her old stomping grounds.

_ “For the glory of Merlin, daylight is  _ mine _ to command!” _ A younger version of Jim yelled. Claire stared at him as he changed into his armor, the blue glow of magic surrounding him. Clearing her head she focused on her memories of Douxie. How he always triumphed in the face of danger. No matter what happened, Douxie made sure his friends, her  _ family _ was kept safe. If Claire was able to repay that debt, she would. Soon, she heard her teacher’s voice through the chaos. Focusing her intent on it, she followed it. Dodging rocks and random things from Arcadia, Claire traveled deeper into the shadow realm. Breathing a sigh of disbelief she whispered, 

_ “Camelot…” _ There, floating whole and intact, was the castle standing strong. Sure, this version of it was darkened and any sort of color was snuffed out of it, but it was still Camelot. “Douxie?” She asked, voice echoing as she pushed open the doors to the castle. All she heard in response were whispers of the once great city. Keeping her focus on Douxie’s Claire passed by empty rooms filled with nothing but shadows of a life once lived. She ignored the shivering cold she felt when she flew past Morgana’s old chambers. Claire passed a workshop room, the door was cracked but it didn’t look like anyone was in it.

“ _ It will work Hisirdoux,” _ a voice said comfortingly. Frowning, she pushed the door open further to see in it, and was instantly attacked by a blast of green magic. Gasping she rolled into the room and away from the attacker. Wielding her shadow staff she sent her own attacks back on the offensive.

“Stop!” Hisirdoux cried out, using his own magic to hold Merlin and Claire in place. Realizing there was no real threat, Claire rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Merlin, it’s me Claire. I got your message,” she said. Once they both seemed to calm down Doxuie pulled back his magic.

“Ah yes, fair Lady Claire! How wonderful it is to see you again,” Merlin said, arms outstretched. Douxie rolled his eyes at his mentor’s antics. 

“We should get down to business,” Douxie said matter-of-factly. At her motion for him to continue he said, “Claire, your son is a Dreamwalker.” She frowned,

“What’s a Dreamwalker?” Douxie tossed her a rather thick book that had a bookmark sticking out from the middle of it. Claire flipped through the book as Morgana explained,

“A Dreamwalker is a rare form of wizard. So rare in fact, that there has not been one recorded in a book yet.” Claire glared at Morgana,

“And there won’t be. Leave my son out of your destiny crap.” Morgana held up her hands,

“I only speak the truth.” Douxie nodded,

“It’s true Claire. Not much can be found about them. We can tell you one thing though, if Douixe the second really is a Dreamwalker…” Claire sighed tiredly,

“As good as it is to see you again Douxie… There’s another end-of-the-world apocalypse coming, isn’t there?” A small smile crossed Merlin’s face,

“Indeed so fair Claire. It seems destiny isn’t done with you and the young Trollhunter yet.” Claire sagged into a chair as she thought about what was happening.

“What if we’re done with destiny? It’s been ten  _ years _ Merlin, Jim and I… we’ve got a kid to think about now.” Douxie placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Claire continued, “we can’t keep running into danger. I know I’m not speaking for Jim when I say this, and it’s not something you three will want to hear, but…” she trailed off, and luckily Douxie picked up for her.

“You’re done fighting for destiny,” he finished with a sigh, as though he knew it was coming. hNodding Claire sagged into her seat,

“It’s been  _ ten years _ . We fought our wars, Douxie you  _ died _ in one. I miss you, I really do… but do we really have to fight in another?” She was tired, both her and Jim were. They did their time, paid their dues, have their shared trauma. Claire just wanted to live a normal life, apparently that was too much to ask. Morgana sighed,

“Claire, you and your friends deserve to live the rest of your days in peace. No one is disputing that,” she placed a comforting hand on Claire’s shoulder. Merlin hummed,

“it seems destiny has different plans in mind.” Claire narrowed her eyes. Flashing them purple she growled,

“Using my  _ child _ as a way to get us to fight wars again doesn’t exactly seem like a good plan to me.” Douxie threw a book in front of her on the table. It flipped open to a page featuring a spell on reincarnation. Gesturing to it he said,

“Claire, there are whispers in the afterlife about Gunmar returning. Whispers about the  _ Arcane Order _ returning. There’s a way you can bring the three of us back to life, but it has to be done once and there’s only one time frame open to do it.” Claire stared at the book in disbelief. Skimming through the ritual she muttered the words, unable to determine what language it was written in. Morgana slid her chair back as she stood up,

“You need time handmaiden, we understand that -” Claire stood up to leave, but Merlin raised a hand up and stopped her as he said,

“you and the Trollhunter must make your decision soon. The reason why no one has tried this ritual before is because a Dreamwalker and a wizard have not existed in the same timeline before.” Claire gripped her shadow staff tightly in her right hand,

“You just want to get your power back, don’t you Merlin? What, you think I’m going to let you turn the love of my life into a troll  _ twice _ ? Maybe you’re after my son this time. God, I don’t know how foolish you think we are, but we aren’t  _ that  _ dumb.” Douxie stepped forward,

“Claire please at least discuss it with Jim. The threats  _ are _ real, and for whatever reason my namesake is at the center of it. I for one would like to meet the little one before he has a chance to join us here.” Claire’s eyes softened,

“He’s really a great kid. Reminds us of you all the time,” she said leaning into Douxie’s outstretched arms. Hesitating she asked, “when you died… I tried to find you here. How come I couldn’t then, but you’re here now?” She asked as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and rested his head on hers. Shrugging Douxie answered,

“The three of us have only been in the shadow realm for a few weeks… give or take a few hours, time is fickle when you’re in the afterlife. Hey, look on the bright side,” the young master wizard said with a cheeky grin, “maybe this time you and Jim won’t have to fight the bad guys alone.” He softly ran a hand through Claire’s hair. She sobbed into his shoulder,

“I’m so,  _ so _ sorry we couldn’t save you.” Douxie let out a light chuckle as he brushed her tears away. 

“Hey it’s okay.” He said comforting her, “it was all a part of my plan.” Claire hit his chest a few times in anger.

“It was a dumb,  _ stupid _ plan,” Claire scolded through some sniffiles. Glancing through the book again her eyes widened in realization, “Blinky had a similar book to this in his library. Maybe his version of it is still standing in Trollmarket. Unless you three made a mistake I suppose. How could Blinky have a copy of a book you’ve got in the shadow realm?” Beside her Merlin sighed,

“My dear, a wizard simply doesn’t make mistakes…” Morgana finished the saying for him,

“...we make unexpected probabilities.” Douxie tipped Claire’s head up a little bit,

“Chin up Claire,” he said with a smile. “Like I said, all a part of a plan.” Claire nodded then wiped away the remaining of her tears.

“You wizards and your convoluted schemes. Why can’t you just be straightforward for once?” Merlin laughed, the warm sound echoing through the vastness of the shadow realm.

“Fair Claire if we were straightforward it would take away from the effect of being a mysterious wizard, would it not?” Claire shrugged,

“Fair point I guess.” The three wizards gathered themselves at the doorway as Claire left the workshop. Turning to face them she said, “I’ll talk to Jim, I promise. If there’s a way to get you back we’ll figure it out.” She pointed her shadowstaff upwards and a rip into reality appeared, glowing brightly amongst the shadows. Douxie pointed at the portal,

“It seems your ride has arrived Claire. Hopefully we’ll see each other again soon. I’d glady jump through that portal now, but these are simply our spirits. You’ll need to find our bodies for the ritual.” Claire nodded,

“I promise we will Douxie. I’ll tell everyone what you said about Gunmar and the Order. Steve can call Nari, see if she can tell what’s going on our end of things. We can send a team into Trollmarket to recover the book, if Blinky remembers where he put it that is.” Douxie nodded,

“That’s a good idea.” Taking that as her cue, Claire gave Douxie one final hug then launched herself into the light.

\---

When Claire returned to the real world Jim almost dropped the casserole in his hands in surprise. “Claire!” He shouted, placing the casserole on the kitchen table and rushing to her side. She braced herself on the couch then stood up, legs wobbly and unable to support her. “Woah, hey there. Just sit on the couch alright?” Jim said, helping her lay down. “You’ve been gone for two days.” Claire looked up at him, face chalk-white and her eyes were exhausted.

“Jim, Douxie Jr. where is he?” Claire asked, coughing slightly as she did. As if on cue their son charged into the room and leapt onto the couch. Jim couldn’t help but let a feeling of warmth grow in his heart as he watched Douxie squeeze Claire with strength that would rival a viper’s.

“Mommy, are you okay?” Douxie asked her, pulling out a thermometer. “Daddy said you might be sick when you came back from vacation.” Claire shot a glare in Jim’s direction, who in response shrugged helplessly

“What else was I supposed to tell him if you got possessed by Morgana again?” Claire chucked a throw pillow, which hit Jim square in the head. He fell back against the couch with an  _ omph _ . “Alright! Sorry, we’re just glad you’re back,” Jim said as he lifted Claire’s hand and pressed a kiss on it. She rolled her eyes,

“I wasn’t gone for  _ that _ long was I?” Douxie Jr. butted into the conversation,

“Uh huh! You left for two whole days, Saturday and Sunday. Today’s Monday mom!” Jim caught Claire’s eye and saw she matched his level of concern. Even back when they were in high school she was only in the shadow realm for a matter of minutes,  _ maybe _ hours if she was stretching it. There was no way Claire would’ve been able to pull off two days in the shadow realm without any outside help.

“I saw Morgana,” Claire said, gripping Jim’s hand tighter. He leaned forward,

“Douxie and Merlin?” He asked hopefully. She nodded,

“Yeah. This conversation would go over better if everyone else was here, even the trolls.” Jim’s eyes widened,

“We said we’d wait until he was sixteen, like I was.” Claire deflated, but she insisted,

  
“We’re going to need Blinky’s help on this Jim. We’re going to need  _ everyone’s _ help on this.” Dropping the subject, Jim let her curl up with their son as he covered the both of them with a blanket. Whatever Claire found in the shadow realm could wait until tomorrow. Jim wanted to have one last normal night with his family.

**Author's Note:**

> Yell at me on Tumblr: @Random-Nerd-3
> 
> I shitpost memes and headcannons. I have a good time over there.


End file.
